The Ukrainian parliament has elected a temporary president to fill in for ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, who has fled the capital and whose current whereabouts are unknown. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin agree that Ukraine must remain whole and not be broken up into an eastern (pro-Russian) state and a western (pro-EU) state.
In other news, the descendants of Muslims who were expelled from Spain centuries ago are demanding a “right of return” to the Iberian peninsula like that granted to the descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled in 1492. The number of such Muslims may potentially be in the millions.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to C. Cantoni, Fjordman, Insubria, JD, Jerry Gordon, JP, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.
Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. We check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.
Spanish Trade Deficit Halved in 2013
As exports boomed and imports flagged
(ANSAmed) — MADRID, FEBRUARY 21 — Spanish trade deficit in 2013 dropped by almost half, or 48.1%, as exports added 5.2% and imports fell by 1.3% over the previous year, the ministry of economics made known Friday.
The trade deficit dropped by 15.955 million euros, with exports reaching a record 234.240 million euros, ministry data showed.
Imports fell by 2.8% in 2012, more than in 2013. This was due to a pickup in internal demand last year, analysts said.
December exports added 2.9% and imports rose by 5.6% when compared to the same month in 2012.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Bipartisan Concern Emerges Over Comcast, Time Warner Cable Merger
Politicians agree upon little in the Age of Obama, but bipartisan concerns greeted the proposed $45 billion merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
The matter should intensify in the coming weeks as hearings flesh out the details behind the plan.
Sen. Al Franken, the MN Democratic who once toiled on behalf of Saturday Night Live, fears the plan will result in higher cable bills and worse service.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
CNN Declares No Two Sides to Climate Change Debate
Have you ever seen a four year old kid who is completely closed to any type of reasoning? Typically his hands will cover his ears and he will scream loudly to block out any arguments others might give to the contrary. Well, CNN has become that unreasoning four year old kid.
And what type of reasoning is CNN attempting to block out? Anything that might contradict their blind faith in global warming or climate change as they now call it. Yes, CNN has declared that there are no two sides to the climate change debate. Here is the amazing shutdown debate statement written by Hardy Spire that CNN released in a promo for today’s Reliable Sources:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Confirmed: DNA From Genetically Modified Crops Are Transferred Into Humans Who Eat Them
In a new study published in the peer reviewed Public Library of Science (PLOS), researchers emphasize that there is sufficient evidence that meal-derived DNA fragments carry complete genes that can enter into the human circulation system through an unknown mechanism.
It’s interesting to ponder if the scientists at these biotech corporations have already identified this method? In one of the blood samples the relative concentration of plant DNA is higher than the human DNA.
The study was based on the analysis of over 1000 human samples from four independent studies. PLOS is an open access, well respected peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers primary research from disciplines within science and medicine. It’s great to see this study published in it, confirming what many have been suspecting for years.
When it comes to genetically modified crops and foods, we really have no idea of what the long term effects will be on the public. The very first commercial sale of genetically modified foods was only twenty years ago in the year 1994.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Creepy New Startup Wants to Create Living Avatars for Dead
By scanning the digital footprints of our dearly departed and recreating their personality, these MIT entrepreneurs hope to use artificial intelligence to bring them back to life in the virtual world. Can a robot help you live forever? Not exactly, yet, but it might be able to help you talk to loved ones from the other side of the grave. That’s the creepy premise behind a new startup called Eterni.me, which says that after sorting through all of your Facebook posts, emails, photos, and chats, it can use artificial intelligence to create an avatar that acts “just like you.” As the website explains: “It generates a virtual YOU, an avatar that emulates your personality and can interact with, and offer information and advice to, your family and friends after you pass away. It’s like a Skype chat from the past…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
FDA to Consider Legalizing Genetically Engineered Babies
On February 25 and 26 the US Food and Drug Administration will discuss the possibility of legalising three-parent embryos — or, in scientific lingo, “oocyte modification in assisted reproduction for the prevention of transmission of mitochondrial disease or treatment of infertility”. This procedure, which involves removing the nucleus from one human egg whose cytoplasm contains defective mitochondria and placing it in an enucleated egg with healthy DNA for subsequent fertilisation, is also being debated in the UK. The measure is strongly opposed by the Center for Genetics and Society, which is promoting an open letter to the FDA. It claims that mitochondrial transfer is unsafe, is effectively experimentation on unconsenting human subjects, and would only help a handful of women. Most importantly, it constitutes germline modification, a form of eugenics.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Former Supreme Court Justice Wants to Add 5 Words to Second Amendment
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens would like to see five words added to Constitution’s Second Amendment, the result of which would be to destroy its intent, and turn the “right to bear arms” into a mere catchphrase lacking meaning. The Second Amendment, which is part of the Bill of Rights, reads:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
‘Frankenfish’ or a Way to Feed us All?
There are currently at least 35 species of fish being genetically engineered, including such popular species as trout, catfish, tilapia, striped bass, flounder, and salmon. AquaBounty Technologies, the world’s leading aquaculture biotechnology company, is working to achieve commercial approval from the FDA of their trademarked AquAdvantage Salmon, which is a farmed Atlantic salmon that has been genetically engineered to grow to market size twice as fast as natural salmon.
Everybody knows that wild fish stocks are being depleted around the world even as we are being counseled to eat more seafood for our health, and apologists for genetically engineered fish argue that these creatures — dubbed “Frankenfish” by some critics — could be a way to supply an ever-growing demand for fish while helping safeguard the marine environment. While there may be something to this argument, it doesn’t take into consideration the survival and preservation of wild fish, or to the potentially harmful effects on those who eat the GMO variety.
What are the environmental concerns around genetically engineered fish? Like with any farmed animal, GE fish have the potential to escape from their land-based tanks or ocean-based net pens. Every year, millions of farmed fish escape into open waters and interbreed with wild fish, potentially polluting the natural genetic pool, and possibly leading to the extinction of the natural species. The release of pesticides and environmental chemicals, as well as the potential for parasitic transmission, are other concerns. AquaBounty has stated that they will only produce sterile female fish, which they say will eliminate the threat to wild salmon — but according to data submitted to the FDA by the company, they have not achieved full sterilization, and up to 5 percent of their eggs may not be sterile.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Government Spying Gone Crazy: DHS Wants RFID Chips in Every Drivers License
The Alabama Department of Public Safety (ADPS) are issuing new chipped driver’s licenses and IDs under the STAR ID initiative that promises to “improve the integrity and security of state-issued driver licenses and identification cards, which, in turn, will help fight terrorism and reduce fraud.”
STAR ID is the Alabama legislature’s response to the REAL-ID Act of 2005 (RIDA) which keeps the state in compliance with federal mandates while maintaining ‘security [and] authentication” of Alabama residents.
By December of 2017, Alabama states that all residents must have their STAR ID; having replaced their current ID and driver’s license.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Michael Rubin, former Bush era Pentagon official who is currently a Resident Scholar at the Washington, DC -based American Enterprise Institute(AEI), has been engaged in intense media interviews since the launch of his new book, Dancing with the Devil: The Perils of Engaging Rogue Regimes. Dancing with the Devil covers Rubin’s research on fifty years of US and Western experience with rogue regimes and terrorist groups. The Encounter Books release on the publication of Rubin’s book noted:…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
NYPD Muslim Surveillance Case Dismissed by Federal Judge in New Jersey
On Wednesday February 20th, a major victory against Lawfare by Muslim advocacy groups was achieved with the dismissal by federal Judge William J. Martini in the matter of Hassan v. City of New York, 2:12-CV-3401, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (Newark). The case was brought by several Muslim plaintiffs in 2012 against the City of New York as a result of a 2011 Associated Press investigation of the New York Police Department (NYPD) surveillance of Muslim mosques in New Jersey. The AP series:…
| — Hat tip: Jerry Gordon | [Return to headlines] |
An organization, Patriots for America, is calling for millions of Americans to descend on Washington, D.C on May 16 for Operation American Spring whose purpose is to demand that President Obama and others in his administration be removed from office…
What has a growing number of Americans concerned is this arming of government agencies we do not associate with the need to be heavily armed. “Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Education has been building a massive arsenal through purchases orchestrated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms” reported Daniels. “Back in July, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also purchased 72,000 rounds of 40 Smith and Wesson, following a 2012 purchase for 46,000 rounds of .40 S&W jacketed hollow point by the National Weather Service.”
One might assume that the DHS needs to be armed to some degree, but there is no logical reason for the Post Office, the Department of Education, and NOAA to be heavily armed. Reportedly DHS spent over $58 million to hire security details for just two Social Security offices in Maryland and $80 million for armed guards to protect government buildings in New York and more guards for federal facilities in Wisconsin and Minnesota. “Even the Environmental Protection Agency has its own SWAT teams conducting raids on peaceful Americans,” wrote Daniels.
DHS has been engaged in a program to provide military-style weapons and vehicles to local police forces around the nations.
My most profound fear, my paranoia, concerning the May 16 protest, despite its instructions to participants not be armed, is that some incident would escalate to a point where shots were exchanged. One can conceive of that serving as the reason to initiate an “emergency” proclamation and/or to declare martial law.
One gets the feeling that this government, under the direction of President Obama, is preparing for a national insurrection against his often lawless administration. The May 16 event would provide an excuse to initiate actions that would put us all under the gun.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Payback Comes to Arrogant Lawmaker Who Linked Common Core With ‘Tin Foil Hats’
The arrogant Missouri lawmaker who mocked opponents of Common Core curriculum standards by including $8 in the state budget for “tin foil hats” was pranked as a result.
“State Rep. Bryan Spencer (R), posted a picture of Republican state Rep. Mike Lair’s chamber desk wrapped in tin foil on Facebook with the caption: ‘Guess [whose] desk this is…Mike Lair,’“ according to The Blaze.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Scalia Warns Government Will Violate Civil Rights in War
At some point when America is at war, terrible violations of basic constitutional freedoms will occur. So says Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Speaking at the University of Hawaii’s law school on Feb. 3, Scalia talked about World War II, where American citizens who happened to be of Japanese descent were placed in internment camps in the 1940s. This government action was taken to court and ultimately was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Korematsu v. U.S.
Korematsu is one of the most infamous cases in American history. It was an unmitigated betrayal of the Constitution’s guarantee that no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. How could such a thing ever happen in America? The answer, according to Scalia, is found in an ancient Latin phrase, inter arma enim silent leges.
That translates as, “In times of war, the laws fall silent.” It expresses the reality that in times of desperate conflict, those who wield military power tend to do what they think necessary, even when the law is against them.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Teen Satanist Claims to be Serial Killer… and Police Are Taking Her Seriously
[WARNING: Disturbing Content.]
A teen satanist charged in one murder along with her husband alleges she’s a serial killer and police in Pennsylvania say they are taking her claims seriously. The (Sunbury) Daily Item reported Saturday Miranda Barbour, 19, admitted her guilt in the Nov. 11 stabbing death of Troy LaFerrara of Port Trevorton and went on to confess she has killed many others in Alaska, Texas, North Carolina and California in the past six years. “When I hit 22, I stopped counting, “Barbour told the newspaper through a phone at Northumberland County Prison Friday night. “I can pinpoint on a map where you can find them.” She said she is ready to plead guilty to the murder of LaFerrara, who she said she killed after agreeing to have sex with for $100 after meeting him through a Craiglist ad, and is willing to talk to police about the other alleged killings.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Wait, There’s Nanotechnology in My Food?
For a little more than a decade, the food industry has been using nanotechnology to change the way we grow and maintain our food. The grocery chain Albertsons currently has a list of nanotech-touched foods in its home brand, ranging from cookies to cheese blends. The projections for market uses of nanofood are huge but highly speculative. Some are also really weird: Kraft has shown interest in creating a smart “blob” that could become any kind of food with any kind of flavor using nanotech. Basically, you can put this yummy blob into the microwave and specify what you’d like it to be. Nanoparticles in the food would be activated by the appliance and change color, shape, and possibly even nutrients. Eventually, the hope is that this food product could become so smart, it would even be able to tell what ingredient one is allergic to and block it.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
British Cabinet to Meet in Scotland
British Prime Minister David Cameron will take his cabinet to Scotland for the first time to warn of the economic cost independence could have on the North Sea oil industry. Cameron said on Sunday Britain’s “broad shoulders” would support investment in the important oil sector that would give a “vital boost” to Scottish communities for decades to come. The fate of North Sea oil revenues is one of the biggest issues ahead of a referendum on September 18 that will decide whether Scotland will end its 300-year-old union with England…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Brussels Rapes: Taxi Driver Arrested
The lawyer of a taxi driver who contacted the police after the release of CCTV footage has confirmed that his client has been arrested. Earlier the Brussels public prosecutor’s office requested the man’s arrest.
Police are looking for a man who stands accused of raping around 30 women who took a taxi after a night out in central Brussels.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cabinet’s Warning to Scotland Over North Sea Oil
David Cameron brings the Cabinet to Aberdeen for Scottish referendum campaign as he underlines the need for the UK’s “broad shoulders” to support future North Sea oil production
The future of the North Sea oil and gas industry could be put at risk if Scotland votes for independence, David Cameron signals today, as the full weight of the British government is mobilised for the first time in the campaign to keep the United Kingdom together.
The Prime Minister and his Cabinet will travel to Aberdeen, the oil and gas capital of Europe, on Monday to campaign en masse against Scottish independence, ahead of the referendum in September.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Cats and Dogs May See in Ultraviolet
A house cat’s bizarre antics may be more than just feline folly. The kitty may be seeing things that human eyes can’t.
Unlike humans, many animals see in ultraviolet, and a study now suggests that cats, dogs and other mammals can, too. Knowing these animals see things invisible to humans could shed some light on the animals’ behavior, the researchers say.
“Nobody ever thought these animals could see in ultraviolet, but in fact, they do,” said study leader Ron Douglas, a biologist at City University London, in England.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Denmark Set to Lose Millions Following Halal Slaughter Ban
Denmark is likely to lose millions of dollars in trade and tourism revenues following its ban Monday on slaughtering animals in accordance with Islamic standards. Halal (Islamically slaughtered) beef and poultry products are imported in large quantities by Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf countries. In fact, around 55 percent of Danish exports to the Kingdom are food-based.
The controversial decision is poised to have a drastic effect on the Danish market since the country is likely to come under a comprehensive boycott as it has on more than one occasion in the past.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Dogs’ Brain Scans Reveal Vocal Responses
Devoted dog owners often claim that their pets understand them. A new study suggests they could be right. By placing dogs in an MRI scanner, researchers from Hungary found that the canine brain reacts to voices in the same way that the human brain does. Emotionally charged sounds, such as crying or laughter, also prompted similar responses, perhaps explaining why dogs are attuned to human emotions…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: New Defence Minister Has Marines ‘In Heart’
‘We must bring them home’ says Pinotti
(ANSA) — Rome, February 21 — Incoming Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti said Friday that the plight of two Italian marines facing possible terrorism charges in Indian for allegedly killing two Indian marines during an anti-piracy mission in 2012 were “in my heart and in the heart of all Italian people”. “It’s an unjust situation,” Pinotti told ANSA. “We must bring them home”.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy: FT Says Renzi Should Follow Example of Mexican President
‘Neither Blair nor Obama should inspire premier-designate’
(ANSA) — New York, February 21 — The Financial Times (FT) on Friday posted a commentary saying Italian Democratic Party (PD) leader Matteo Renzi, who is currently poised to become Italy’s next premier, should look to the president of Mexico for footsteps to follow.
The British newspaper pointed out that Renzi has been compared to United States President Barack Obama and former British premier Tony Blair in his leadership style and agenda, but those leaders should not be on the forefront of his mind as he wrestles to form a new government and majority coalition.
“The best role model for Mr. Renzi is also in North America (like Obama), but just south of the US. I am referring to Enrique Pena Nieto,” wrote Ferdinando Giugliano in an online FT commentary. “Since he was elected some fifteen months ago, Mr. Pena Nieto has driven through an ambitious reform agenda, from telecommunications to education to energy, there is little Mr.
Pena Nieto has not dared to touch,” explained Giugliano.
“After a decade in which it was considered little more than a narco-state, Mexico is now firmly back on the map of foreign investors — something which Italy could also do with,” Giugliano said.
The editorialist suggested Renzi follow what Pena Nieto did to overcome his lack of an absolute parliamentary majority. Renzi not only faces a divided parliament, but also must grapple with the limited executive powers of premiers under the Italian system.
Pena Nieto hammered out a 95-point programme with the main opposition groups, called the “Pact for Mexico”, which “has been instrumental in helping the president achieve his objectives”.
The FT commentary advised Renzi to get major opposition groups “to sign a similar coalition agreement”.
“For a divided Italy, a dose of Mexican realism could be more useful than the illusion of an American dream,” the writer concluded.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Acting in Line With EU Ukraine Stance
(AGI) Rome, Feb 23 — Italy is acting in line with the European Union stance on the new political and institutional heads in Ukraine. Responding to a tweet from AGI mooting the possibility of these being officially recognised, the Italian Ambassador in Kiev, Fabrizio Romano, said that a government was being formed and that Baroness Ashton (the European Union foreign policy chief) had urged all sides to be prudent and reasonable.
Recognition was, legally-speaking, a different matter.
| — Hat tip: C. Cantoni | [Return to headlines] |
Maria Von Trapp, Last of Famous Singing Siblings, Dies at 99
(CNN) — Maria von Trapp, the last of the singing children immortalized in the movie musical “The Sound of Music,” died at her Vermont home of natural causes, her half-brother told CNN on Saturday. The native of Austria was 99 and lived in Stowe. She died Tuesday.
Maria von Trapp was the third-oldest child of Agathe Whitehead and Capt. Georg von Trapp. The couple had seven children: Rupert, Agathe, Maria, Werner, Hedwig, Johanna and Martina. Georg von Trapp’s second wife, Maria Kutschera von Trapp, wrote a book titled “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers,” which sparked two German-made movies and “The Sound of Music.”
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Muslims Demand “Right of Return” To Spain
by Soeren Kern
Muslim groups are demanding Spanish citizenship for potentially millions of descendants of Muslims who were expelled from Spain during the Middle Ages. The growing clamor for “historical justice” comes after the recent approval of a law that would grant Spanish citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492.
Muslim supporters say they are entitled to the same rights and privileges as Jews because both groups were expelled from Spain under similar historical circumstances.
But historians point out that the Jewish presence in Spain predates the arrival of Christianity in the country and that their expulsion was a matter of bigotry. By contrast, the Muslims in Spain were colonial occupiers who called the territory Al-Andalus and imposed Arabic as the official language. Historians say their expulsion was a matter of decolonization.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
[WARNING: Disturbing content.]
A premature baby boy died when a nurse removed him from a ventilator without his parents’ [and doctors’] permission while he was receiving treatment at a scandal-hit hospital trust.
Rohan Rhodes was born 14 weeks prematurely at Singleton Hospital in Swansea in August 2012.
Although he was very premature, he got through the critical first few weeks and was doing well in the hospital’s neo-natal intensive care unit…
Rohan’s parents Alex Rhodes and Bronwyn Vincent, who live in Narberth, Pembrokeshire, Wales, returned from a rest break to find their son had been taken off the device.
They said: ‘We have no idea why the nurse did what she did — but we are convinced it cost our son his life.
‘Nurses can only take a baby off a ventilator under a doctor’s direction and we know there wasn’t a doctor’s decision to do this.‘
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Lisa Philips, 36, was given a suspended prison sentence at Teesside Crown Court in October, but faces questions from police after it emerges that she was allegedly never pregnant.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Egg Throwing Yobs Target Clitheroe Mosque
CLITHEROE mosque, town centre buildings and cars have been attacked over the last two weeks by a gang of youths…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: EU Debate With Nigel Farage Will be ‘Tough for Nick Clegg’
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg faces a “tough gig” debating UK membership of the European Union with UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, a fellow Lib Dem minister has warned. But Simon Hughes said Mr Clegg was “hugely qualified” for the job. On Friday, Mr Farage accepted the Lib Dem leader’s offer of a debate, saying he could “hardly wait”…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Merkel Gets Royal Reception in London This Week
By Valentina Pop
Berlin — German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be received with the highest level of pomp during her visit to London on Thursday (27 February). She is to meet the queen, Prime Minister David Cameron and speak to the joint houses of the British Parliament, a rare invitation among foreign dignitaries.
This stands in stark contrast to a Franco-British summit in January, when French President Francois Hollande was received by Cameron on an airfield in Oxfordshire and held a short press conference in a hangar…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: What Do I Need to Do to Become ‘Islamophobe of the Year’?
By Douglas Murray
I was robbed! News has just come in that despite making the shortlist I failed to win ‘Islamophobe of the Year’ in any of the categories…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Why Angela Can’t Do Enough for Her ‘Naughty Nephew’
by James Forsyth
There are not many jokes when it comes to Anglo-German relations. But a shared sense of humour is the key to Angela Merkel and David Cameron’s friendship — and it will greatly improve the Prime Minister’s chances of advancing his plan for a new deal for Britain inside the EU when the German Chancellor visits London this week…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
A Turning Point in Israeli-German Relations
German public opinion of Israel is slumping ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit there. There is growing public and political disillusionment over Israel’s treatment of its Palestinian neighbors.
Next week, Merkel and her 15 cabinet ministers will participate in the largest-ever bilateral consultations and will kick off official preparations for next year’s celebrations commemorating 50 years since diplomatic relations between the two countries were established.
However, the visit has been overshadowed by reports of the worst crisis in diplomatic ties since Merkel took office almost 10 years ago. A recent BBC poll showed that only 14 percent of Germans today had a positive view of Israel…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Leaked! Obama to Make Prophetic Covenant by Declaring Palestinian State in 2014.
To Give Eastern Jerusalem (?) To Israel’s Enemies As The Book Of Daniel Sets To Unfold Amidst Middle East Cauldron The Palestinian Authority received a pledge from the U.S. that by the end of 2014, the Obama administration will issue an official written declaration presenting general highlights of a future Palestinian state, a senior Palestinian negotiator told WND. The negotiator further said the goal is to have the general framework for a deal ironed out by April. The current framework for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement being brokered by Secretary of State John Kerry calls for the phased implementation of more Palestinian sovereignty within three to five years, the negotiator said. As part of the written declaration, the U.S. is set to officially recognize Palestinian rights in eastern sections of Jerusalem, without defining the exact territories that would be eventually handed to the PA. The U.S. will declare on paper that the Jordan Valley territory is “occupied” by Israel and that Palestinians have rights there, the negotiator said.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Belgian FM in Iran for Talks With Leaders
(TEHRAN) — Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders is in Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders, media reports said Sunday, the latest in a string of high-profile visits from the European Union.
Reynders met with President Hassan Rouhani, though no details of the meeting were immediately available, and was to hold a joint press conference with his counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif scheduled for later on Sunday, reports said…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Do ‘Syria, ‘ ‘Iraq’ And ‘Lebanon’ Still Exist?
by Jonathan Spyer
For almost a century, the Middle East has been defined by the nation-states that emerged following the Allied victory in World War I and the end of the colonial era. Since then, strategic analyses of the region have concentrated on the relations between these states, and diplomatic efforts have generally attempted to maintain their stability and the integrity of their borders. As a result, the current map of the Middle East has remained largely unchanged over more than nine decades.
But this is no longer the case. The old maps no longer reflect the reality on the ground, and the region is now defined not by rivalry between nation-states, but by sectarian divisions that are spilling across the old borders and rendering them irrelevant. Today, there is a single sectarian war underway across the Middle East, one that threatens to engulf the entire region.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Like the North Korean nuclear weapons program, Iran’s nuclear weapons program is clandestine, mostly underground, mostly inaccessible to international inspections, and impenetrable to U.S. national technical means. Most of what we know about Iran’s nuclear program has been disclosed voluntarily by Tehran to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The U.S. did not even suspect Iran was working on the bomb until 2002, after the program was in operation for some 15 years.
We should know from our own experience that Iran probably already has the bomb. During its World War II Manhattan Project, when nuclear weapons were only a theoretical possibility, and working with 1940s era technology, the U.S. built two atomic bombs of radically different design that both worked perfectly — in a mere three years.
Iran, with access to copious unclassified information on nuclear weapon designs, working with 21st Century technology, helped by the A.Q. Khan network, North Korea, Russia, and China, supposedly has been unable to build the bomb — after thirty years of trying. This is an implausibly optimistic assessment.
North Korea developed its first nuclear weapons in no more than 8 years.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Iran: Not Just Mt Zion But All Jerusalem Should be “Liberated” From Israel
Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, on Wednesday said that Jerusalem should “be liberated from the yoke of Israel.” The comments were made during a meeting in Tehran between Rouhani and the Speaker or the Palestinian Authority (PA) parliament, Salim Zanoun, and were reported by the semi-official Fars news agency. During the meeting, according to Fars, Rouhani expressed the support of the Iranian government and nation “for the oppressed people of Palestine”, and called for the “liberation of the Holy Quds (Jerusalem) from the yoke of Israel.”
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Saudi ‘Seeking Pakistan Arms for Syrian Rebels’
Saudi Arabia is in talks with Pakistan to provide anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets to Syrian rebels to try to tip the balance in the war to overthrow President Bashar Al Assad, a Saudi source said on Sunday.
The United States has long opposed arming the rebels with such weapons, fearing they might end up in the hands of extremists, but Syrian opposition figures say the failure of Geneva peace talks seems to have led Washington to soften its opposition.
Jordan will be providing facilities to store the weapons before they are delivered to rebels within Syria, the same source said.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Suicide Bombing Hits Army Checkpoint in Eastern Lebanon, 2 Killed
BEIRUT, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — A suicide bombing on Saturday rocked an army checkpoint in Lebanon’s Bekaa town of Hermel, killing at least two soldiers, the LBCI TV reported.
The report said a suicide bomber drove his Mercedes 4×4 car trying to cross the checkpoint toward Hermel when the soldiers raised suspicion against the driver and asked for his identification paper. The bomber then blew himself up…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
The Obama Interview That ‘Launched a Thousand’ MANPADS
by Mark Langfan
A recent January 27, 2014 New Yorker interview of direct, Obama-vetted quotes by President Obama himself describing his Middle East policy is bound to cause a titanic battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Tribesman Murderer Beheaded in Saudi Arabia
A Saudi citizen convicted of murder was beheaded on Sunday, the interior ministry announced, bringing the number of executions in the kingdom this year to 10. Salem Al Jahdali beat fellow tribesman Abdullah Al Jahdali to death following a dispute, the ministry said in a statement published by the official SPA news agency. The execution took place in the holy western city of Makkah.
The ultra-conservative kingdom beheaded 78 people in 2013, according to an AFP count.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Turkey: Report on Violence Against Women Tip of the Iceberg
According to Istanbul-based Independent Communications Network
(ANSAmed) — ISTANBUL, FEBRUARY 21 — Independent Communications Network (Bianet), an Istanbul-based NGO and news portal, announced that violence against women in Turkey increased in 2013 compared to the previous year. According to Bianet’s annual report, 214 women were murdered, 167 were raped and 161 were sexually abused by men in 2013. In 2012, the number of women murdered was 165 compared to 214 in 2013. Serpil Kemalbay, representative of the Women’s Trade Union Initiative (IMECE), blamed the increase on the conservative and male-dominant policies of the current government. “Male violence is being viewed as legitimate,” she told SES Turkiye. “The government needs to adopt a definite position on the subject. Currently, the laws are protecting the family, not women.” According to Bianet’s tally, 13.5% of the women killed in 2013 had previously applied for protection. Preliminary injunctions against 13 men were in place when they committed murders. Four women were killed immediately after the injunctions against their murderers were over. Twelve victims were in the process of filing complaints against their murderers at the time of their deaths.
Four men killed their victims during their probation period or shortly after their paroles. Some 49% of the women were killed by their husbands, 13% were killed by relatives, and 12% were killed by their lovers. Ten percent were killed by their ex-husbands or ex-lovers, 5% were killed by their fathers.
According to the report, one reason for violence that stands out the most is women’s demand for a divorce.
| — Hat tip: Insubria | [Return to headlines] |
Amb. Rice Warns Moscow Not to Intervene in Ukraine
Obama’s UN ambassador said US will work with EU and IMF to “restructure” Ukraine’s debt.
Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, has warned Russia not to send troops to Ukraine to protect its assets in the country, including a naval base at Sevastopol on the Black Sea.
“It’s not in the interest of Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or of the United States to see a country split. It’s in nobody’s interests to see violence return and the situation escalate,” Rice said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press.
She said it would be a “grave mistake” for Russia to consider using its military in defense of its national interests. The United States routinely uses its military to protect its national interests and what it defines as its national security.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Canada Defeats Sweden to Win Gold in Men’s Hockey
Canada’s men’s hockey team, with two goals by Sidney Crosby, defeated Sweden, 3-0, to win the Winter Olympics gold medal Sunday. Crosby, the team’s captain and perhaps its most talented player, had no goals and just two assists before the final.
Having defended the gold medal it won in the 2010 Vancouver Games, Canada is the first team to repeat as Olympic hockey champions since the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
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Documents Found at Ukrainian President’s Abandoned Home Detail Millions in Lavish Spending
Cash: $12 million. Decoration of a dining hall and tea room: $2.3 million. Statue of a wild boar: $115,000. “A bribe”: $4,000. These are some of the expenses detailed in financial documents found in President Viktor Yanukovych’s abandoned residence, which was occupied by protesters after the leader fled the capital.
While visitors gawked in awe and outrage at Yanukovych’s luxurious mansions, ponds and exotic animals, journalists combed through heaps of documents that appeared to show a leader who basked in extravagant wealth while his country sought bailouts from both the West and Russia.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Eastern Ukrainians Revolt Against Western-Backed Coup
It is hardly surprising, given the drastically divided nation, that when Vitali Klitschko’s pro-European political party ventured to Kerch — a city of the eastern edge of Ukraine in the Crimea region — things did not go entirely according to plan… This is the region that Russia has stated it is willing to go to war over and is deep in the pro-Russia territory… headlines galore are coming out of Ukraine but all that matters now is the Russian response…
Especially after Tymoshenko’s earlier comments:…
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Footsteps of Ukrainian Impeachment Echo All the Way Back to America
If it can happen there, it can happen in America too
The forced Parliamentary impeachment of Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych just cancelled out President Barack Obama’s puny pen and telephone.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was Yankovych’s pen and telephone, but with the entire world watching, the prime minister, who only three months ago made a deal in favor of the Russians over the European Union, has hightailed it for safer ground by abandoning the battle field.
“Parliament on Feb. 22 voted overwhelmingly to impeach embattled Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych. Lawmakers applauded as the votes came in — 328 in all — to oust the president. Following the vote, parliamentarian(s) stood and sang the national anthem.” (Kyiv Post, Feb. 22, 2014)
How many victims of ongoing Obama tyranny in the U.S. are beginning to hear the strains of The Stars and Stripes?
In America, the voice of We the People has been ignored for more than five years while the current administration is doing everything possible to curtail ‘dissidents’ now under threat by the IRS, NSA, and an FCC that backed off on sending monitors into America’s news rooms — until they can come up with a more malleable way.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
In Ukraine, EU and US Interventionists Nearing the Civil War They Caused
With the BBC positioned and intending to make Ukrainian matters worse, the European Commission and individual EU states began to send their senior officials to sympathize with and support the anti-government forces in Kiev, as well as to threaten, belittle, and ridicule the Ukrainian president, his government, and their decision about what was economically best for the Ukraine. The prize ass of this herd of incendiary EU officials was without question the Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. On numerous visits to Kiev, Bildt openly supported the demonstrators, damned the Ukrainian president and his government, and threatened EC sanctions if the Ukrainian regime did not surrender to the rabble in the street.
Two points come immediately to mind on this issue. First, why would any Europeans in their right mind listen to anything that a senior Swedish official had to say? Sweden’s 20th century behavior speaks for itself. In two world wars it stayed neutral so that it could make enormous profits by selling nickel ore, iron ore, and other strategic minerals to Imperial Germany and Hitler’s Reich, entities which in turn used the metals to kill millions of other Europeans. This simple fact alone, one would think, should be enough to ensure no Swedish official gets a hearing anywhere in Europe, ever.
The second point is another rule of thumb. Any non-EC government that is dealing with domestic unrest ought never to issue visas for EU or US diplomats to visit their protesting citizens. Such a government also should not allow resident EU and US diplomats to involve themselves with the demonstrators, and should expel those who seek to do so.
These EU and US official visitors and resident diplomats do not intend to negotiate an even-handed end to the government-protestors confrontation. They mean to force the government to surrender, and, if that does not occur, to foment increased resistance among the demonstrators, even if such encouragement leads to violence. No matter. EU and US diplomats will easily get away with recklessly stoking violence because whatever happens in Kiev’s streets will be reported by the BBC as the Ukrainian regime’s fault.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Merkel, Putin Say Ukraine Must Remain Intact
Feb 23 (Reuters) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a phone call on Sunday that Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” must be safeguarded and that the country urgently needed a functional government…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Sochi 2014: Russia Top Medal Table as Olympics Come to an End
Host nation Russia finished on top of the medal table as the 22nd Winter Olympics came to a close in Sochi on Sunday after 17 days of competition. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach officially closed the Games during an extravagant 130-minute ceremony.
The build-up to the Games was overshadowed by concerns over the threat of a terrorist attack and the impact of protests against Russian anti-gay legislation. But Bach said Russia and the Black Sea resort city of Sochi had “delivered all that it promised” and risen above the concerns to deliver an impressive Olympics.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Tymoshenko Promises to Deliver Ukraine to the Globalists
Plan to loot and further impoverish nation may now commence
On Saturday, oligarch, embezzler, murder suspect and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, released from a clinical hospital in the eastern industrial city of Kharkiv, told the Euromaidan revolutionaries in Kyviv’s Independence Square to stay the course…
The developments set the stage for the final dismemberment of Ukraine. It is speculated that the eastern, pro-Russian portion of the country will break away from the western part as it embraces the European Union. Southern Ukraine, in particular the Crimea, has strong ties to Russia. The region hosts a Russian naval base at Sevastopol. Politicians in the region have called for autonomy from Kyviv backed up by protection from Moscow.
Regardless of the west-east divide and calls by ultra-nationalists to keep Ukraine whole, serious economic problems continue to wrack the country and are driving it headlong into the hands of European Union apparatchiks and international bankers.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine: Western Powers Sleepwalking Into Destructive Conflict
The problem with Washington’s plot to overthrow the elected government of Ukraine and install its minions is twofold: The chosen US puppets have lost control of the protests to armed radical elements with historical links to nazism, and Russia regards an EU/NATO takeover of Ukraine as a strategic threat to Russian independence.
Washington overlooked that the financially viable part of today’s Ukraine consists of historical Russian provinces in the east and south that the Soviet leadership merged into Ukraine in order to dilute the fascist elements in western Ukraine that fought for Adolf Hitler against the Soviet Union. It is these ultra-nationalist elements with nazi roots, not Washington’s chosen puppets, who are now in charge of the armed rebellion in Western Ukraine.
If the democratically elected Ukraine government is overthrown, the eastern and southern parts would rejoin Russia. The western part would be looted by Western bankers and corporations, and the NATO Ukraine bases would be targeted by Russian Iskander missiles.
It would be a defeat for Washington and their gullible Ukrainian dupes to see half of the country return to Russia. To save face, Washington might provoke a great power confrontation, which could be the end of all of us.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine: Border Guards Avert Yanukovych Escape Attempt
A charter plane with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on board was reportedly stopped from taking off by State Border Service guards in Donetsk. “A charter plane without documents required for crossing the border was trying to take off from the airport of Donetsk today”, State Border Service spokesman Serhiy Astakhov told Interfax-Ukraine, claiming Yanukovych was on board…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine: Why the Eruption in Kiev Could Set Off a Tsunami That Will Engulf us All …
by Mark Almond
Television pictures of revolutions can make them seem like a spectator sport. Having Vitali Klitschko, the world heavyweight boxing champion, playing a starring role in the events in Kiev reinforces that impression. But the implosion of the Ukrainian state in the last 48 hours is a political earthquake. Chaos in Kiev could set off a tsunami that will toss Western Europe from its moorings too…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Ukraine Hands Over Presidential Powers to Top Official as Former Leader’s Whereabouts Unknown
Ukraine’s parliament voted Sunday to temporarily hand the country’s presidential powers to a top official, a day after former leader Viktor Yankovych — whose whereabouts are unknown — was ousted following a week of deadly protests.
A plane with Yanukovych onboard was denied permission to take off Saturday evening from Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine that is the president’s base of support, the State Border Guard Service said. Oleh Slobodyan of the State Border Guard service told the Associated Press Sunday that the plane did not have the proper documentation. It is not clear what the plane’s ultimate destination would have been. The president was driven off in a car from the airport.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: 1 Dead, 3 Injured in Mosque Firing Incident in Karachi
KARACHI: One person was killed and three critically injured when assailants opened fire inside a mosque in Aligarh Colony area of Orangi Town on Sunday afternoon, Express News reported…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Taliban Attack Kills Dozens of Soldiers in Eastern Afghanistan
At least 19 dead after attack by ‘hundreds’, as Taliban says it is calling off negotiations over possible prisoner swap
Taliban insurgents assaulted a checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, leaving 19 soldiers dead and seven missing, officials said. It was the deadliest single incident for the Afghan army in at least a year…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
China Like Cancer-Risking Smoker as Smog 8-Fold Who Danger Mark
Air pollution in China, the world’s biggest carbon emitter, has reached intolerable levels and the country should aggressively cut its reliance on coal, according to the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation.
“China’s pollution is at an unbearable stage,” Li Junfeng, director general of the state body that advises the government on climate-change issues, said at a conference in Beijing yesterday. “It’s like a smoker who needs to quit smoking at once otherwise he will risk getting lung cancer.”
China, which currently uses coal for about 65 percent of its energy, should reduce that ratio by two percentage points per year, according to Li.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mozilla Plans ‘$25 Smartphone’ For Emerging Markets
Mozilla has shown off a prototype for a $25 (£15) smartphone that is aimed at the developing world. The company, which is famed mostly for its Firefox browser, has partnered with Chinese low-cost chip maker Spreadtrum. While not as powerful as more expensive models, the device will run apps and make use of mobile internet.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
The man who saw Kim Jong-Un from rock-star boyhood to blood-soaked dictatorship tells his story
According to his former companion Kenji Fujimoto, Jong Un is really a Hollywood-obsessed playboy who grew up with the lavish excesses of a rock-star childhood.
And today, in the most detailed account ever given about the secretive tyrant, Fujimoto recalls a child who learned to drive his own Mercedes at the age of seven, whose favourite games were Super Mario and Tetris, who downed whole bottles of vodka and smoked like a chimney — but who, chillingly, from his earliest days, displayed the ruthless determination apparent in the recent execution of his own uncle.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Confirmed: Oldest Fragment of Early Earth is 4.4 Billion Years Old
Ever heard this life advice? When solving a big problem seems impossible, break it into smaller steps.
Well, scientists just took one of geology’s biggest controversies and shrunk it down to atomic size. By zapping single atoms of lead in a tiny zircon crystal from Australia, researchers have confirmed the crystal is the oldest rock fragment ever found on Earth — 4.375 billion years old, plus or minus 6 million years
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
PM to Qantas: Get ‘ House in Order’
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has encouraged Qantas to get “its house in order”, in the wake of reports the airline is considering cutting 3000 jobs. Late on Friday Qantas dampened speculation that it would cut 3000 jobs, saying it would outline the “tough decisions” it would take to strengthen the business on Thursday. “There are a series of unsubstantiated and unsourced rumours swirling around ahead of our half-year results, ranging from estimates on job losses to route changes,” Qantas said in a statement…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Taliban Seek End to Violence Against Muslims in CAR
Warn the situation threatens peaceful coexistence of Muslims and Christians in Africa
Kabul: The Afghan Taliban on Saturday called for an end to violence against Muslims in the Central African Republic, making a rare statement on conflicts outside their region that was soon echoed by Al Qaida’s North Africa branch…
| — Hat tip: JP | [Return to headlines] |
Drug Lord Guzman Confined to Underground Cell in His Former Prison
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has spent his first night in prison, confined to an underground cell in a maximum-security facility with fellow accused drug traffickers with names like El Hummer, officials said Sunday.
The capture on Saturday of one of the world’s leading drug traffickers and Mexico’s most-wanted billionaire fugitive ended a manhunt of more than a decade.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Mexican Kingpin El Chapo Guzman Hid in Secret Tunnels and Sewers Before Being Captured
The Mexican government confirmed Saturday that Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was detained in Sinaloa, his home state on Mexico’s Pacific coast. “I acknowledge the work of the Mexican security institutions in achieving the arrest of Joaquín Guzmán Loera in Mazatlán,” Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto wrote in his Twitter account.
Up until Saturday, no action by the Mexican or U.S. governments against Guzmán, including targeting his multimillion dollar money laundering operation to squeeze his finances, had been successful. His success as the U.S.’s #1 supplier of illegal drugs —as the head of the Sinaloa cartel — is attributed to his extraordinary entrepreneurial skills and his immense power to bribe corrupt Mexican officials.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
Malta: 2013: One in Every Four Immigrants Were Minors, Mostly Unaccompanied
The Armed Forces Malta intercepted a total of 24 boats last year, all of which departed from Libya.
One in every four irregular immigrants who arrived in Malta last year were minors, Illum newspaper reports. The majority were unaccompanied and aged between 16 and 18.
Often travelling on insecure and crowded boats, asylum-seekers have been met with both sympathy as well as exasperation while travelling in hazardous conditions. During 2013, the Armed Forces Malta intercepted a total of 24 boats, all of which had departed from Libya, UNHCR Malta told Illum.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |
SPLC: ‘More Than Half of White Americans’ Anti-Black (Video)
CNN contributor blasts SPLC for profiting off racial division
During an interview with CNN last week, Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center boldly claimed that more than half of white Americans hate blacks…
CNN contributor Reihan Salam, visibly shocked by Potok’s assertions, pointed to the massive strides gained in American race relations…
In a surprising move, Salam went on to note the SPLC’s massive wealth increase in recent years, commenting on the groups need for increased racism to remain relevant and lucrative.
“But another thing is we have organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center that really have grown enormously in recent years. For example, in 1995 the SPLC had net assets of about $52 million, in 2011 they had net assets over $250 million and this is not a period of time during which racism increased by a factor of five, rather they have been able to grow by drawing on instances of this kind and then weaving them into a story about racism growing,“ Salam said.
“Racism is real. It needs to be combated, but we also need to be weary of people who profit form the perception that racism is something that it is not, which is to say a growing phenomenon.“
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
Prophetic? Polaris — The North Star — Getting Brighter, Surprises Astronomers
One might muse that even as the world seems darker, True North is shining brighter than ever! PolarisThe North Star, or “Polaris” as it is known to astronomers, has guided many a star-gazer with its constant mark of true north. Unlike the other stars that — because of the Earth’s rotation — rise in the east and set in the west, Polaris seems to stay put, seemingly unmoving, like the hub of a wheel. Now though, the North Star has been capturing the attention of astronomers as it is reportedly becoming dramatically brighter. It’s not the first time that Polaris’ intensity has changed — in the 1990s, scientists noted that its brightness was declining, according to a FOX News report.
| — Hat tip: JD | [Return to headlines] |
The Urban Hyenas That Attack Rough Sleepers
Urban hyenas are becoming a dangerous problem in the Ethiopian capital, where they attack rough sleepers.
London is infested by urban foxes. Delhi is besieged by urban monkeys. Addis Ababa is plagued by urban hyenas who have moved in to the city from the surrounding hills and taken up residence in the capital.
| — Hat tip: Fjordman | [Return to headlines] |